Fm Purchase

November 18, 1985|By Julia Reed of The Sentinel Staff

American Media Inc. has purchased WELE-FM in DeLand for $7.5 million in a transaction that is pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission. The country-music station was owned by Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co., which owns radio stations in Melbourne and Elyria, Ohio.

American Media, a radio broadcast group based in Long Island, New York, owns stations in Baltimore, San Antonio and Patchogue, N.Y.

Alan Beck, president of American Media, said, ''We're excited about owning a station in Central Florida.''

Although WELE's purchase price is among the highest paid for a station in Central Florida, it pales next to last month's record price of $44 million for a station in Los Angeles. Cleveland, Ohio-based broadcasting executive Carl Hirsch paid the hefty price for the ''beautiful music'' station KJOI-FM.